Frances Tiafoe overcame what he described as a “circus” to lead the United States to a 2-0 demolition of Poland in the semi-finals of the United Cup.
The Americans have one foot in the final, but it was Tiafoe’s ears that were of most concern during his 6-3, 6-3 win over Kacper Zuk on Friday.
The world No.19 struggled to hear the ball, which affected his reaction time, as the torrential Sydney rain thundered into the roof at Ken Rosewall Arena.
“Yeah, it was a circus out there, for sure,” Tiafoe said.
“I’ve never heard that kind of noise when I’m trying to play a tennis match. I have a tough time focusing regardless, so it was very tough.
“It was very tough. I’m trying to play, and I’m hearing that loud noise. Hey, he has to deal with the same thing, right? I can’t complain about it even though I was complaining about it [smiling]. Yeah, it’s just a part of the game, I guess.”
United States’ Frances Tiafoe reacts after losing a point to Poland’s Kacper Zuk during their semifinal match at the United Cup on Friday.Credit:AP
In the earlier match, Jessica Pegula blitzed world No.1 Iga Swiatek 6-2. 6-2 in arguably the most impressive performance of this event.
Pegula, whose previous career-best win had been over then-World No. 2 Naomi Osaka in the second round, had lost to Swiatek in all three of their meetings in 2022. The change of fortune reduced the world No.1 Swiatek to tears.
“I just knew that I felt kind of helpless today because physically, and mentally, I wasn’t able to kind of show up even, and problem-solve,” Swiatek said when asked what triggered the emotional outburst.
“So it’s always hard when you lose, especially when you’re kind of playing for the team and your country. So, I was just sad. But, you know, it’s not the first time I cried after a lost match. Nothing special.”
The Polish team had the disadvantage of having to travel to Sydney from Brisbane, where they were based for the group stage, the day before their semi-final against the United States.
Swiatek said it was a major contributing factor to her underwhelming performance.
“Honestly, we didn’t have time to rest at all,” she said. “Yeah, I mean, I’m not going to blame that because we just have to play tennis.
“Our travel got delayed yesterday. After sitting all day you have to practice and get used to the conditions, but you can’t do that in like 30 minutes. The conditions are similar, the court is basically the same, but, you know, the rain. In Brisbane, it was pretty humid and hot. Here, the opposite.
“I think traveling all day yesterday, it caused that my reaction time was probably a little bit worse. It’s not only about travelling because you have to pack, you have to unpack, you have to organise everything … Yeah, so it wasn’t easy. I didn’t recover well. I think I didn’t recover at all.”
The Americans need to win just one of the remaining three matches in the tie to clinch a berth in the final against the winner of the Greece-Italy fixture.
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